Game-table.



PATENTED MAY 8, 1906.

S. C. ROBERTS. GAME TABLE. APPLIGATION FILED 1920.30, 1903.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

fiauenton' 562 1% z? Wm PATENTED MAY 8, 1906.

S. G. ROBERTS. GAME TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 30, 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

9 num uittwvuc UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

SAMUEL'C. ROBERTS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR- TO AUTOMATIC GAME TABLE COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHU- SETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

GAME-TABLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1906.

Application filed December 30, 1903. Serial No. 187,148.

1 has for its object to provide a device of this kind for affording amusement and tests of skill to those operating it.

Among the principal features which characterize the present invention is the combination of a table provided with pockets adapted to receive a ball impelled by the operator, the table being so arranged that when the ball enters the pocket to score it is returned to a position where it can be used again; but in case it does not score by enter- ,mg the pocket 1t 1s returned to an lnoperative position, from which it must be dislodged by depositing a coin for actuating releasing mechanism.

Another feature of the invention consists in the combination, with a table of this char acter having its bed and pockets inclosed, so as to be inaccessible to the operator, with movable means for actuating the ball to impel it into any of the pockets of the table for the purpose of scoring on an automatic indicating device.

Still another feature is the combination of a table of this class having a series of pockets with pins arran ed to obstruct the direct entrance of the balI to the pocket, so that a bank or cushion shot must be made to permit the ball to enter the pocket.

These and other novel features char'acter-,

izing the invention will be explained in detail in the following specification and will be particularly pointed out and defined in' the claims hereto annexed.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the table complete. Fig. 2ris a longitudinal central sectional view of-the same, showing the different mechanism connected with the table. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the mechanism for actuating the automatic indicator for registering the score. 'Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the table, partly broken away, to show the coin-controlled mechanism by which the l belng somewhat simllar 1n ball is released to pass to a position Where it -may be used in the game.

Generally speaking, the gametable as herein shown embraces a table or floor slightly inclined from the horizontal, around the sides and upper end of which are ar-.

ranged suitable banks or cushions which are cut away at proper intervals to form pockets for the entrance of the ball. The ball is impelled from the lower end of the table and upon entering into the pocket actuates suitable mechanism for registering the score or number which is adopted as the value of each pocket upon any suitable automatic indicating device. In case the ball rolls back to the lowerend of the table without entering a pocket no score is made, the indicator is not affected, and the ball is locked in a position from which it can be released only by dropping a coin in the slot. 1

It will be readily understood that in carrying out the principles of this invention many changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts and in the details of construction of the various mechanism which perform their respective functions. therefore to be considered as illustrative of the principles which characterize the esseritial invention and will now be described in detail.

The bed a, of the table is mounted in a suit'. able framework provided with legs, so as to slightly raise one end of the table above the level of the other end. It is surrounded on f the two sides and on the upper end by elastic banks or cushions 0, provided with suitable side pockets, as indicated at (1 corner-pockets a and end pockets a a the construction principle to the ordinary pool-table.

At the lower ends of the table .areformed a series of openings or pockets a a a Instead of providing the'l'ower end of the table The form of device herein shownis or bed with an elastic bank it terminates, as

indicated at a, without any obstruction whatever, so that the ball can roll into a shallow trough formed just beyond and below;

this lower end, as indicated at b. 'llhis trough 1) extends across the lower end of the table and has its end portions sloping downe Wardly toward the middle portion, so that IOC roll towar the ball upon rolling into the trou b will by its own weight roll to themid le of the trough. At the middle portion of the trough, as indicated at Figs. '2 and 4, there is an enin .large enough to allow the passage 0 the ba 1, as indicated at b. Upon rolling through this opening I) the ball rests upon a small drop table or plate b which is normally held in position by locking mechanism adapted to be released by a coin. To prevent the ball from rolling off the table, a small U-shaped piece of wire 6 is arranged above the plane 'of the table, which acts as a keeper to hold the ball in place until the table or plate 6 is dro ped.

o the lower edge of the frame of the table is tacked or secured a piece, of canvas or.

flexible material, (indicated at c.) This is allowed to sag through the middle portion and at the lower end, so that all portions of it converge to the lowest point, at which is formed an a erture c. As this flexible sheet 0 eXten s beneath all the pockets and.

openings formed in the table pro er, it forms a rollway b which the ball will e caused to this opening 0 into whatever pocket it is dropped. The use of this conoavo-convex sheet-piece for this purpose is deemed an im ortant feature of the inven tion, as it provides a simple and effective device for returning the ball from all points to one place, which is not liable to get out of order and is certain, simple, and efficient in its action.

The to of the table is closed in or covered over, pre erably by a large sheet of glass a,

through which the action of the ball may be seen, thereby preventing the'operator from interfering in any way with the ball or getting posession of it. The sides and ends of the table-frame are also inclosed with suitable casing to prevent access to the interior. At the middle ofthis lower'end of the table a small aperture is provided through which projects the barrel of a spring-gun d, which is preferably hung upon vertical pivots d,.so as to swing in an approximately horizontal plane to vary the angle of the gun with relation to the pockets.

As the operator has no access to the interior of the table, means are provided for feeding the ball to the gun in order that the game may be played. The means herein shown for that purpose comprise a suitable lever e, at whose top is arranged a small pivoted cup e, having a rearwardly-projecting lip e so arranged that when the lever e is swung upward through the openings, formed in the false bottom 0 of the table will the lip e enga e the forward end of the barrel of the gunan will bedropped, so as to throw the In order to make the game a test of skill, I provide a series of large pins or obstructions f, arranged in suitable relation to the pockets, so that the ball cannot be shot directly into any of the pockets from the gun, but must be first impelled against the banks or cushions, by which it may be deflected into any of the pockets.

If the ball is in the position shown in Fig. 2 on the drop-plate b it becomes necessary to release it by depositing a coin in the coin slot or passage 12 Any suitable coin-controlled mechanism may be employed for supporting the drop-plate b in itsnormal position or at least of preventing it from dropping. In this case I have shown a small link I), secured to the edge of the drop-plate at its lower end, the upper end of the link being secured to the end of a pivoted lever b, which is counterbalanced to normally support the drop-plate when empty, the counterbalancing being insuflicient, however, to support the drop-plate b when the ball is upon it. In order that the lever b may be held against movement when the ball rolls upon the drop-plate 5 I provide a pivoted lever or'detent b provided with a projecting antifriction-roller b and normally drawn up to the horizontal position by means of a retractile spring b to pass over and engage the weighted end of the lever b, all as indicated in Fig. 4. At one end of the detentlever b is arranged a small coin-cup b in position to receive the coin from the slot or runway b. When the coin is deposited in the coin-slot b, it drops into the coin-cu b, its weight being sufficient to depress the ever 6 so as to swing the antifriction-roller b out of engagement with the cooperating end of the lever 12. This permits the lever b to swing on its pivot under the influence of'the weight of the ball resting upon the dropplate 5 The plate b therefore drops, allowing the ball to pass down to the bottom of the casing and roll into the concave cu c, by which it may be once more fed bac to the spring-gun in the manner already described.

It will be understood that I do not confine myself to a springegun or a spring-actuated piston'for givlng impulse to the ball to shoot it toward the pockets, as any suitable device may be used for this purpose.

I will now describe the means by which the scoring of the ball is indicated on a suitable dial or indicator. Mounted in suitable bearings below the bed a of the table and adjacent to the respective pockets are a series of rockshafts i, to which are secured small plates i, arranged below the respective pockets, so that each plate will be caused to drop by the weight of the ball falling upon it as It enters the pocket. We will suppose that the two end pockets a are given a value of one hundred, the end pockets a a value of eighty, the

corner-pockets a value of seventy, the side pockets a value of sixty and fifty, res ectively, in counting or scoring. As t ese pockets are arranged in pairs, but a single rock-shaft need be employed foreach pair of pockets, each rock-shaft being provided at sponding to the num each end with the drop-plates '5, arranged to project beneath their respective pockets. At the upper end of the table is arranged in a suitable casing m the indicatin or re istering mechanism, which is norma ly held from action by means of a suitable detent, to be hereinafter explained, which detent is released by means of a series of spring-actuated bolts or plungers l, which are arranged to slide lengthwise of the table. These springactuated plungers l are normally held out of engagement by means of a series of detents or pawls l, which normally form a locking engagement with the respective plungers. Each pawl is connected, by means of a connecting wire or rod P, with a projecting arm of, secured to its appropriate rock-shaft. When the ball enters the pocket M, for example, it depresses the plate i, arranged lac-- neath it, actuates the rock-shaft, which through the medium of the arm 6 and the connecting-rod Z disenga es the pawl Z from one of the spring-presse levers Z, which is thereupon a lowed to move forward under the tension of its controlling-sprin Z to set in motion a suitable r-egisterin mec anism.

The registering mechanism erein shown is mounted in a box-like casing m, extending across the upper end of the table. About the middle ortion of this table is mounted a rotatable s aft m, to which is secured a ratchet-wheel m At one end of the casing, as indicated at m is pivotally mounted a lever m, whichjcarries a pivoted pawl m counterbalanced or wei hted, so that it normally tends to engage file teeth of the ratchetwheel m Obviously the falling of the lever m when the awl m is in engagement with the ratchet-wheel will pull the ratchet-wheel around on its'axis untilthe lever stops falling, thus causing a partial rotation of the-shaft m. The shaft m may be connected by suitable gearingwith a dial or indicator, as shown at m, upon which are laced figures corresber of teeth in the ratchet-wheel. The lever we when raised to its uppermost position is supported a ainst dropping b means of a toggle or hinge support m w ich is provided with a counterwei hted arm m", which tends to cause it to bllCTilG or flex. The flexing of this hinge or toggle m which supports the lever against dropping, is normally prevented by means of a plvoted dog m provided at its forward end with a projection for engaginga pin or other ortion on the hinge m. At its rear end ack of the pivotal point this dog m is provided with a projecting wire or finger m whlchengages a pin n, secured to the supteeth on the ratchet.

plemental lever n, which is pivotally mounted beneath the lever m. Obviously the dropping of the supplemental lever n will depress the finger m thus raising the forward end of the lever m and allowing the counterweight 'm to act .to buckle the hinge m so as to a low the lever m to drop of its own weight. As the lever m and its supporting parts must be made fairly heavy to secure positive action, it would naturally accelerate its speed as it drops, and thus give'a momentum to the ratchet-wheel which would carry it beyond the exact point at which the lever m was sto ped. To revent this, Iprovide a fluid das -pot, as shown at 0, which is provided with a suitable piston whose piston-rod o is ivotally connected with the outer end of the ever m. movement, so as to counteract the momentum of the ratchet-wheel after it has begun to move.

. It will be seen that before the lever m can drop in order to actuate the ratchet-wheel 1t is necessary that the supplemental lever n should first be released. This lever n is normally held in place by a small pivoted detent n arranged on the side of the casing, thislever n having at its lower end a rojectlng arm or finger 15, arranged to lie in t e path of the lunflers Z. Now it is obvious that by arresting the fall of the lever m at different points we can cause it to rotate the ratchet This acts to gradually check the m through an arc corresponding to one tooth of the ratchet or to any desired number of Inthis case instead of applying the differential stop mechanism directly to the lever m we have applied it to act directly upon lever n and have provided lever m wlth a stop m arranged in the path of the lever n, so that as soon as the stop m rests u on the lever n the downward movement 0 the lever m 'is arrested.

It will be seen that if each ratchet-tooth is given a value of ten on the dial or indicator which the ratchet actuates, the pawl m in order to correctly register the score for the the pockets a having a value of one hundred,

should be allowed to'move the ratchet-wheel 9% through an are equal to ten ratchet-teeth.

On the other hand, if the ball drops into the lower side pocket, having a value of fifty, it will be necessary in order to correctly register the score to permit the lever to move the ratchet through an arc of only five teeth.

Various forms of stop mechanlsm may be employed for accomplishing the arresting of the drop of the levers'n and m at the proper point to turn the ratchet wheel throu h the requisite number of degrees. I- have erein shown a simple vcontrivance for thls purpose consisting of a series of plun ers Z, each one of which is actuated by mechanism already explained through the agency of the drop late and rock-shafts t '17 and which are comined with a stepped stop-piece n secured to ing to that plunger, rests upon the end of the plunger.

Referringto Fig. 3, it will be seen that if the right-hand plunger Z is moved forward its corresponding step n will rest upon it after I the lever has moved through the smallest arc.

If, however, the extreme left-hand plunger be released so as to move forward, its correformer case.

sponding step'rt willnot engage its rojecting end until the lever n has moved t rou h an arc that is relatively much greater than in the These steps are so graduated with reference to each other thatthe difference in distance of the fall of the lever which they permit will correspond to the movement of the levers through an are equal to one ratchet-tooth. The plungers Z, however, serve a two-fold purpose. They not only form a series of sto s to arrest the downward movement of the evers at different points, but they also form a means for releasing the detent n which normally holds the su plemental or supporting lever n against ropping. This 1s accomplished by providing each plunger Z with a small projection 1 arranged toengage the arm n on the pivoted stop 11?, so that as the lever moves forward it swings the pivot-ed stop or detent n out of engagement with the supplemental lever it,

thus allowing the supplemental lever n to drop through the medium of the pin 12/, actuates the detent m so asto permit the hinge m to buckle, and allows the main lever m to drop, carryin the .awl with it. The are through whic the ever falls will then depend u on which one of the slide bars or plungers-l as been moved forward to arrest the ever 11 this fact being in turn determined according to'the-particular pocket into which the ball falls. After the ball has passed through the pocket and registered the score it is then-necessary to return the lever to its highest position, where it will be locked in place, and also to return the slide-bar to its normal position. This maybe accomplished by means-of the pivoted lever p, which is carried' by any suitable support beneath thetable and whose handle projects beyond the lower end ofthe table in position-to be gras ed by the operator, while its forward en is formed with a bent arm which projects up through the casing m, sothat its extreme end may engage the bottom face of the lever n to raise the whole recording mechanism to its tease? inoperative position, from which it may be released to actuate the dial-indicator in the manner already described. This same lever pis constructed with an incline or. cam face p arranged so that when the upper endof the lever is raised this face will engage the arm n of the detent 11- and throw it inward, carrying with it whichever one of the plunger-s has been released, thus returning the plunger to its inoperative position, whereit may be again locked against movement by means of its locking-pawl Z. This checking-pawl is shown as a gravity-'lplawl, but of course maybe assisted in its 100 ranged spring. The ratchet-actuating pawl 'm is weighted, so as to normally swing into engagement with the ratchet, which action may be further aided by a small tension-spring. The lower end of the awl m is arranged to strike upon the supp emental stop-lever n just before the stop m descends u on the lever n, so as to disengage the paw from the ratchet. In order to prevent the operator from impro erly scoring on the register by moving the ever p so as to repeatedly engage the pawl m with the ratchet without raising it to the osition in which it is'automatically locked, provide a guard t, which is ivoted on the shaft m and is provided wit a pcripheral flange covering the teeth of the ratchet, the guard being arranged to revent the engagement of. the pawl except w en the pawl is raised to its highest point, at which point the mechanism is locked by the de tents and cannot be actuated exce t by the arms adjacent to the pockets, whic actuate the detent'n The lever p may also be provided with a link connection p by means of which it may be caused to actuate the lever e, which carries the ball-retaining cup e upward in position to be fed into the gun for use a second time. While for convenience I have shown therock-shafts and their attached arms or plates 0', applied only to the pockets at the up er end and sides of the table, it is obvious t at openings or pockets may be formed in'the table a or surface over WhlOh the ball is rolled, as indicated at a a] a and IOD that the principle of this mechanism for setting in motion the register may be applied to these ockets or openings for the ba ever tliey are placed. The trough or receptacle c, which forms the bottom or runway,

will obviously always return the ball to the 7 same place at which is located the receivingcup 0. I t is obvious that the d'etalls of the reglsterin mechanism and of other mechanlsm attac 'ed to the table may be tgreatly varied ment that may be made in the practice of my invention or all the modes of its use, what I rious pockets, locking means for holding the diaLindicator mechanism against movement, means adapted to be actuated by the ball after it enters a pocket for releasing said locking means in order to permit the dial-indicator to register, substantially as described.

2. A game-board embracing in its construction, a table provided with a series of pockets, an indicator-dial for registering the score when the ball enters the res ective pockets, a series of spring-actuated slide-bars arranged to set the indicator mechanism in operation, a series of detents for said slidebars to hold them normally against movement, and movable members adjacent to the respective pockets adapted to be actuated by the ball passing through the pocket to release said detents, substantially as described. 3. A game-board rovided with a series of pockets, movable ba l-actuat'ed members ad- {)acent thereto, a series of independent slidears connected with the ball-actuated members of the respective pockets, a register for recording the scores, a detent for reventing the action of said re ister, each 0 said slidebars being arrange to. release said detent and to arrest the movement of the register at a predetermined point, substantially as described.

4. A game-board embracin in its construction, a table provided wit pockets the receptacle arranged beneath the table by which the ball may be returned to a uniform position from all the pockets, said table being provided at its lower end with a passage-way through which communication ma be had with said receptacle beneath the tab e, means for retaining said ball to prevent it from rolling through said passage-way, and mechanism for releasing said retaining means, substantially as described.

5. A game-board embracin in its construction, a table, a ball-impelhng device arranged to impel the ball over the table, a cup or holder arranged below the ball-impelling device, means for conducting the ball to the cup after it has rolled over the table, an actu. ating-lever for lifting said cupto the level of the ball-impelling device, said cup being pivotally mounted u on said lever so that it ma be ti ped up to eposit the ball in the bal impelling device, substantially as described.

6. A game-board embracing in its construction, a table provided with a series of pockets ada ted to receive a ball, an impeling device or rollin a ball across the ta 1e,

an indicating device or registering the scores assigned to the various pockets, means adj acent to said ockets for setting in motion said indicating evice, a lever arranged to reset said indicating device, and mechanism connected with said lever for depositing the ball in operative osition to be again im elled across the tab e, substantiall as descri ed.

In witness whereof I have ereunto set my hand this 21st day of December, 1903.

SAMUEL C. ROBERTS. In presence of- JOHN L. RIcE, S; M. JoNEs. 

